The 2016–17 NWHL season is the second season of operation of the National Women's Hockey League. All four teams from the inaugural season returned for this season: the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, and New York Riveters.
League business Team locations During the off-season, the Connecticut Whale moved to Northford Ice Pavilion in North Branford, Connecticut, and the defending champion Boston Pride moved to the new Warrior Ice Arena in the Boston neighborhood of Brighton.
On August 1, 2016, it was announced that the New York Riveters moved from Brooklyn to the Barnabas Health Hockey House in Newark, New Jersey, situated within the Prudential Center as the New Jersey Devils practice arena. The facility was the site of the first Isobel Cup finals the previous season.
With the changes in arenas, it left the Buffalo Beauts, playing their second season at Harborcenter, as the sole team not to change arenas.
League news August 2, 2016: The league announced a partnership with You Can Play, which also saw each team feature an ambassador. August 4, 2016: The league announced that all four inaugural season jersey designs would be retired and replaced with new designs voted upon by fans. October 7, 2016: Buffalo Beauts player Harrison Browne became the first transgender athlete in professional North American team sports, asking to be referred to by the name Harrison. As the hormone treatments involved with gender transition violate anti-doping regulations, Browne would remain fully biologically female during his playing career. Browne initially retired at the end of the season to with plans to start a full transition, but returned to play for the Metropolitan Riveters the following season. November 17, 2016: Part way into the league's second season, the NWHL informed its players that they would all be getting up to a 50% pay cut. The league claims the pay cut is needed in order to sustain the longevity of the league. This dropped the league player minimums to $5,000 per player. Five weeks later, in an attempt to partially compensate for the salary rollback, the league introduced an incentive program where players from the home team split the revenue generated by tickets sold in excess of 500 after each game. February 3, 2017: The league announced that the season and playoffs would be shortened to accommodate for the players' participation in the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship and preparations for the 2018 Olympic teams. The season was originally set to end on April 16, following a three-week break for the World Championships. The regular season was instead scheduled to end on March 12 and then followed by a single-game Isobel Cup playoff semifinals and final to be held March 17–19.
All-star game
The 2nd NWHL All-Star Game was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the first NWHL game to be played outside of its four markets. Amanda Kessel and Kelley Steadman were named as All-Star captains. Kessel would go on to score the first hat trick in NWHL All-Star history.
Regular season Standings Boston Pride 171610732932 New York Riveters 18873555819 Buffalo Beauts 176101446813 Connecticut Whale 185121607711
Playoffs
Statistics Scoring leaders The following players led the league in regular season points at the conclusion of season. Player Team Brianna Decker Boston Pride 17 14 17 31 Alex Carpenter Boston Pride 17 9 20 29 Haley Skarupa Connecticut Whale 16 11 11 22 Janine Weber New York Riveters 17 10 12 22 Meghan Duggan Boston Pride 17 13 7 20
Awards and honors Brianna Decker, Boston Pride, 2017 NWHL Most Valuable Player Brianna Decker, Boston Pride, 2017 NWHL Scoring Champion Ashley Johnston, New York Riveters, 2017 NWHL Denna Laing Perseverance Award Megan Bozek, Buffalo Beauts, 2017 NWHL Defensive Player of the Year Award Katie Fitzgerald, New York Riveters, 2017 NWHL Goaltender of the Year
Transactions Draft
The 2016 NWHL Draft took place on June 18, 2016, and was the second in league history. Defender Kelsey Koelzer of Princeton was selected first overall by the New York Riveters.
Player (Pos) Team Nationality Former team 1 1 Kelsey Koelzer (D) New York Riveters Princeton University (ECAC) 1 2 Lee Stecklein (D) Buffalo Beauts University of Minnesota (WCHA) 1 3 Dani Cameranesi (F) Connecticut Whale University of Minnesota (WCHA) 1 4 Ann-Renee Desbiens (G) Boston Pride University of Wisconsin (WCHA) 2 5 Sydney Daniels (F) New York Riveters Harvard University (ECAC) 2 6 Cayley Mercer (F) Buffalo Beauts Clarkson University (ECAC) 2 7 Andie Anastos (F) Connecticut Whale Boston College (Hockey East) 2 8 Sarah Nurse (F) Boston Pride University of Wisconsin (WCHA) 3 9 Jenny Ryan (D) New York Riveters University of Wisconsin (WCHA) 3 10 Hayley Scamurra (F) Buffalo Beauts Northeastern University (HEA) 3 11 Mellissa Channell (D) Connecticut Whale University of Wisconsin (WCHA) 3 12 Ashleigh Brykaliuk (F) Boston Pride University of Minnesota Duluth (WCHA) 4 13 Sydney McKibbon (F) New York Riveters University of Wisconsin (WCHA) 4 14 Emma Woods (F) Buffalo Beauts Quinnipiac University (ECAC) 4 15 Paige Savage (F) Connecticut Whale Northeastern (HEA) 4 16 Halli Krzyzaniak (D) Boston Pride University of North Dakota (ECAC) 5 17 Amy Menke (F) New York Riveters University of North Dakota (WCHA) 5 18 Maddie Elia (F) Buffalo Beauts Boston University (HEA) 5 19 Sydney Rossman (G) Connecticut Whale Quinnipiac University (ECAC) 5 20 Lara Stalder (F) Boston Pride University of Minnesota Duluth (WCHA)
Free agency Date Player New team April 4, 2016 Kelly Babstock Connecticut Whale April 6, 2016 Morgan Fritz-Ward New York Riveters April 6, 2016 Madison Packer New York RivetersApril 11, 2016 Paige Harrington Buffalo BeautsApril 12, 2016 Ashley Johnston New York RivetersApril 12, 2016 Kiira Dosdall New York RivetersApril 20, 2016 Jordan Smelker Boston PrideApril 26, 2016 Jillian Dempsey Boston PrideApril 27, 2016 Alyssa Gagliardi Boston PrideApril 28, 2016 Bray Ketchum New York RivetersApril 28, 2016 Amanda Leveille Buffalo BeautsApril 28, 2016 Miye D'Oench New York RivetersApril 30, 2016 Sam Faber Connecticut WhaleMay 1, 2016 Kaleigh Fratkin New York RivetersMay 1, 2016 Jaimie Leonoff New York RivetersMay 1, 2016 Amanda Kessel New York RivetersMay 2, 2016 Lexi Bender Boston PrideMay 2, 2016 Lisa Chesson Buffalo BeautsMay 2, 2016 Kaliya Johnson Connecticut WhaleMay 3, 2016 Cydney Roesler Connecticut WhaleMay 3, 2016 Nicole Connery Connecticut WhaleMay 3, 2016 Nicole Kosta Connecticut WhaleMay 4, 2016 Kelley Steadman Buffalo BeautsMay 4, 2016 Shelby Bram Buffalo BeautsMay 5, 2016 Courtney Burke New York RivetersMay 10, 2016 Harrison Browne Buffalo BeautsMay 10, 2016 Devon Skeats Buffalo BeautsMay 11, 2016 Jessica KoizumiConnecticut WhaleMay 13, 2016 Shenae Lundberg Connecticut WhaleMay 16, 2016 Kourtney Kunichika Buffalo BeautsMay 16, 2016 Emily Janiga Buffalo Beauts
Trades
To New York Riveters
Haley Skarupa (Right) To Connecticut Whale
Michelle Picard (Right) To New York Riveters
Hannah Brandt (Right) To Connecticut Whale
Dana Trivigno (Right) To Boston Pride
Alex Carpenter (Right) To New York Riveters
Miye D'Oench (Right)
Retired Date Player May 11, 2016 Jenny Scrivens
References
External links NWHL website